Portrait lens on a budget (canon)

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dlphotography

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Hiya guys im on a very tight budget of say £150 but i need a new lens for portrait work i currently have the nifty fifty but am looking for a new lens.

Have been thinking about the 135mm but would like to know if there is any other i should think about or is there any bad side to this lens?

or the Canon EF28-135mm with is? which is better?
 
What doesn't your nifty do for you? Do you find it too wide? I wouldn't really recommend going for zoom IF (and only if) you can cope with the lack of flexibility that a prime gives you - the trade off is that quality does suffer a touch.

For that kind of money, I don't think that you will get anything that optically betters your nifty, but if it's the right focal length and makes the difference between getting the shot and NOT getting it, then it's a worthy investment.

Cheers,
James
 
i do find the nifty fifty a lil wide and would like to try a tighter crop if possible. iv seen the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM going for £150 second hand and the 135mm for the same price i just dont know which one to go for.
 
only you can decide on this one mate imo..:shrug:

personally i use a 24-105 is for my studio work and would like to zoom in closer some times.

very rare i use the 50mm as you say its to wide..

you could try the 135

:shrug: if it dont work out sell it on .. very little loss on lenses at the moment.

just a thought


md:thumbs:
 
The 28-135 is a good "do all" lens but f/5.6 at the long end isn't really what you want for portraiture. The 135/2 or 85/1.8 would be much better options.

Bob
 
I think a 50 is a good length for portrait work. and as has been said by others, you'll struggle to get better quality for the money you're looking to spend.
 
You could maybe try a Tamron 90mm f2.8 or Sigma 105 f2.8 - both technically 'Macro' lenses, but pretty amazing for portraiture too, and both within your budget when purchased second hand.

Cheers,
James
 
the 50mm is a great lens but i would like somthing that gives me that tighter crop as i said before and lets me work further away from the model. the tamron and sigma out of my price range on ebay :( i may have a look around for a while
 
i own a 350d and wondering if the 135mm would be to long for portrait work as this means it would be around the 200mm mark? would you think this would be a problem?
 
It would for me if using at home and I always thought that portrait lenses were more around the 100mm mark?
 
depends what and where you shoot. you don't want little DOF all the time as you want to have more than the eye lashes in focus lol

common misconception that portrait means small DOF and thats not true.


Canon Bob said:
The 28-135 is a good "do all" lens but f/5.6 at the long end isn't really what you want for portraiture. The 135/2 or 85/1.8 would be much better options.

Bob
Click to expand...
 
The 135mm 2.8 soft focus is a pretty good lens, and can be got for well within your budget. The soft focus can be left off, but at times it adds something that helps especially if taking pictures of old ugly folks, such as me..
 
POAH said:
depends what and where you shoot. you don't want little DOF all the time as you want to have more than the eye lashes in focus lol

common misconception that portrait means small DOF and thats not true.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%....you're not forced to use a wide aperture but f/5.6 just isn't going to give you the option. Outdoors then f/5.6 will give you the possibility of some isolation but indoors it'll be very limiting. A f/1.8 or f/2 will give options that an f/5.6 won't.
The 85/1.2L is probably the classic portrait lens because of its wide aperture range.

Bob
 
so do you think the 135mm will be to long on a 350d 1.6x crop sensor? il be working mostly outdoors.
 
dlphotography said:
so do you think the 135mm will be to long on a 350d 1.6x crop sensor? il be working mostly outdoors.
Click to expand...

Not at all, if you are not limited by space. being a few steps further back can put the subject more at ease too, without a camera in their face :thumbs:
 
85mm F1.8, about £220 and ultrasonic
or 135mm F2.8 SF, about £150, no ultrasonic, not too slow focusing though, min focus distance is about 1.3m (a bit closer with SF dialed in).

Here's a couple of shots from the 135mm at F2.8 to give you an idea of the bokeh. Purple fringing might be more apparent wide open on a crop sensor though (these are on FF and film respectively):

:police: http://sittingbourneSPAMerver.com/downloads/Photos/TP_Shared/IMG_2438_edited-1-1.jpg

http://sittingbourneSPAMerver.com/downloads/Photos/TP_Shared/CNV00010_edited-1.jpg
 
Canon Bob said:
The 28-135 is a good "do all" lens but f/5.6 at the long end isn't really what you want for portraiture. The 135/2 or 85/1.8 would be much better options.

Bob
Click to expand...

:agree:

the 85mm F1.8 gives an equivalent 135 ish on a crop body, ideal for portraiture, :thumbs:I had a 28-135.is sold it, found it soft at the edges...:shake:
 
on a 1.6x crop body the 85mm f1.8 is equivalent to the 135mm f2.8 on film in depth-of-field terms too
 
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